Pokemon: Broken Chains, Unbroken Spirit
by Conquest115
Summary: A young man bent on taking down Team Rocket disregards the rules of the world around him, sowing seeds of change for the world of Pokemon.
1. Introduction

The young girl fell to her knees as hot tears ran down her cheeks. She started to wail with despair as the man dressed in black knelt down and picked up the Pokèball that she had dropped, using it to capture the injured Rattata that lays between the two. The small, rat-like Pokèmon had several tiny scratches and bite marks scattered across its frail body, and it had been rendered unconscious. "Please, don't take him away!" The girl cried, crawling towards her Pokèmon before it was turned to light and returned to the Pokèball. "He's my friend, don't take him away from me!" She continued to sob uncontrollably as the taller man laughed cruelly.

"Sorry kid, my hands are tied!" The man wore a brimmed hat that obscured the top half of his face. His black, long sleeved shirt had a large red "R" on the front and center. "I beat you in battle, so I've gotta take this little sucker back to base and break him into my team! I think he's gonna make a good little criminal..." he continued to chuckle to himself, tossing the stolen Pokèball playfully in his hands as he soaks up the sight of the crying girl. She couldn't have been anymore than eight years old.

"How can you be so mean?!" She shouted hatefully at the grunt. "I just wanted to play outside with Ratty! But you hurt him and took him..." the girl folded her arms and tried in vain to stop her shaking sobs. The grunt only continued to laugh.

"Quit whining, brat. Team Rocket does what it wants, when it wants, and there's nothin' you can do about it but sit there and cry!" The man in black laughed to himself, beginning to turn and walk away. Just as he did, though, he bumped clumsily into a wall and fell over onto the ground. "Ow... when did a wall get..." he mumbled under his breath for a moment before he looked up and saw what he hit. Instead of a wall, he saw a stranger standing above him. He looked to be around eighteen years old, and tall for his age. His face had strong, chiseled features that helped accentuate the stone cold glare he gave the man on the ground. The young man wore a dusty brown jacket with red streaks along the sleeves, a matching brimmed cap, and a pair of slightly worn jeans. The look in his eyes was like that of a wrathful eagle stalking its prey.

The Team Rocket Grunt stood up and dusted himself off, giving the stranger an annoyed, skeptical look. "You want something, punk?" He asked, stepping up to the man in an attempt to intimidate him. The act fell short, however, as the young man stood a head taller than the grunt, and more broad to match. The stranger gazed down at the grunt coldly.

"Give it back," he demanded, his voice deep and commanding. The grunt broke into a cold sweat and took a step back. He then started to chuckle.

"Heh, you want it back so bad?" The grunt asked, pulling out a Pokèball. "You're gonna have to battle m-" the grunt was suddenly interrupted as the stranger's closed fist hurtled directly into his nose, sending a wave of pain throughout his head and neck as his body flew backwards and onto the dirt. The young girl, who had previously been watching silently, cried out in fear and surprise as the grunt landed in front of her, his nose bleeding intensely. The grunt shouted in pain and anger as he began to stand up. "You broke my nose!" He screamed in a nasally voice. "Are you some kind of psycho?! Use your Pokèmon, you lunatic!"

"I don't need Pokèmon," the stranger stated, beginning to walk forward as he rubs the knuckles on his left hand. "Now give the girl her friend back, or your nose isn't the only thing that's gonna break."

The grunt gritted his teeth nervously as blood dripped from his face. He pulled out one of his Pokèballs, the device expanding to fit the grip of his hand. "I'm gonna show you how Team Rocket deals with punks like you..." he said to the stranger as he came closer and closer. The grunt threw the Pokèball upwards, causing it to open up with a small flash of light. From the flash, a small blue bat flapped its wings in the air, letting out a slight screech as it exposed its tiny fangs. "Zubat!" The grunt shouted at his Pokèmon, "Use bite! Show this madman how it's done!" The diminutive creature flew towards its target, opening its maw to bite into his flesh. It was caught off guard, however, as the stranger suddenly thrust out his hand and grabbed the bat's body, pinning its wings to its side and leaving it helpless in his hand. The Zubat screeched and squirmed furiously, but was completely powerless while it was held. The stranger looked down at the small animal and sighed.

"I wonder how long it took them to break your spirit," The man said to the bat, a hint of sorrow in his eyes. He shook his head. The stranger took a step forward, raising the bat up in his hand and lifting his leg. He then proceeded to swing his hand forward, throwing the small creature like a professional baseball player would throw a fastball. The bat's frightened screeches faded as it was launched into the nearby woods, slowly regaining its posture as it sailed through the air. Before long, the Zubat began to fly away from the battle, realizing that it was out of range of its former master's Pokèball and was now free to escape.

The Team Rocket Grunt's jaw dropped, a completely shocked expression frozen on his face as if he were suddenly turned into a statue. Before he even realized it, the Grunt was faced with the strange young man, who now glared down at the Grunt. Slowly and shakily, the defeated member of Team Rocket pulled out the young girl's stolen Pokèball, tossing it behind him. The girl gasped and ran up to it, taking it and releasing her Rattata out into the open. The ratlike creature was still wounded from its previous battle, but was now conscious. The young girl lifted it up and held it in her arms, smiling happily. "Ratty! I thought I'd never see you again..." The small creature nuzzled up gently against her and whimpered lightly.

The stranger placed a firm hand on the Grunt's shoulder, causing the Team Rocket member to start shaking fearfully. "Tell your boss," the stranger said, leaning in closer than was comfortable, "that I'm coming for him. I'm going to beat down every single member of Team Rocket, and I'm going to tear this organization down by its foundations. I promise you that." The stranger gave the grunt a light shove, and the Pokémon thief takes a few timid steps back before making a breakneck sprint into the nearby foliage, soon disappearing into the woods.

The stranger began walking down the path, past the young girl he helped. She stood up, cradling her Rattata. "U-Um, Thank you!" She said as he passed by. "What's your name?" The stranger stopped in his tracks and turned to the girl. His fierce glare was replaced with a neutral, slightly amicable look. He then gave a small shrug.

"My name is Hunter Grey," he declared. "If you ever need a Team Rocket thug kicked down to the curb, I'm your guy."


	2. The Vigilante

**Author's Note:** I've already gotten a few people asking that I block certain users because of their past actions and drama that's been going on with this site. I want to make it perfectly clear that I have no intention of blocking anyone who doesn't pose an immediate threat to my stories or those who follow them. I will not change my style of writing because it bothers some people. Furthermore, I don't plan on involving myself in the drama that surrounds this fanbase and . With that being said, I will not tolerate people who spam, bully, or harass others. Previous offenses will be forgiven, so don't send me links of other people being jerks, because I don't have the time to read them and I don't want to involve myself in anything outside of my own stories. Any evidence of harassment on MY stories, however, will be swiftly stopped. You have been warned for the first and last time. I'm just here to write my fanfictions and have people read them.

With that being said, on with the story.

Chapter 1: The Vigilante

The thug that had attacked that young girl had dropped his bag. When Hunter leaned down to inspect it, he found that it contained seven other Pokeballs. Only one of them was empty. Figuring that they were likely stolen from other trainers, Hunter picked up the bag and slung it over his shoulder. He hadn't gone far from Pewter City, only a short walk towards the Viridian Forest. It was only by sheer coincidence that he came across the girl and that thug, but it was a good thing that he did. In the two weeks that he had been in the area, Hunter had driven off four other Team Rocket grunts who were stealing Pokemon in Viridian Forest and near Pewter City. From what he had heard, Team Rocket's aggression and range of activity had increased in the past few years, much to the dismay of the region. This, however, was something that Hunter planned on putting a stop to. Team Rocket activity had been cut in half around the Pewter City area since he had arrived, relieving the local trainers of some of their worries.

It only took a few minutes walk to get back to Pewter City. While it wasn't nearly as big as Celadon City, it was still a large town housing a hearty community. Most of the people in Pewter City were born and raised in the shadow of Mt. Moon, at the base of which Pewter City was built. The streets of the city were made from light gray tiles carved from the mountain base, decorated along the sides with bright green grass and bushes of vibrant flowers that were protected by white picket fences. Most of the houses were constructed with granite foundations and strong oak walls. Like most towns, Pewter City had a Pokemon Center, a small market place, and a Pokemon Gym. A unique aspect of Pewter, however, was the museum located at the north of the town. For a small fee, anyone could look at the interesting advancements of science that were on display there. These included fossils of Pokemon from ancient times, a large Moon Stone that had crashed into Mt. Moon many years ago, and a recreation of a space shuttle that was used to leave orbit. While the museum was interesting, most Pokemon trainers came through so that they could receive their first Gym Badge from the Pewter City Gym. Before doing that, however, they would need to beat Pewter City's Gym Leader, a man named Brock, in a Pokemon battle. Easier said than done.

Hunter walked past all of this as he headed towards the center of town. Near the shop was a small police station where a few officers were stationed, including a young woman named Officer Jenny. Hunter had become familiar with the woman, as she spent a good bit of time at the station working on evidence, and was happy to take the stolen Pokeballs Hunter had found off of his hands. As he walked into the police station, a tall gray building with two stories and quite a few barred windows, Hunter noticed one of the officers leading a man in black clothing towards the interrogation room. Hunter recognized him as one of the Team Rocket grunts that had been stalking trainers around this area. Looks like the police had caught him.

Another door opened, revealing Officer Jenny carrying a few files. She was a fit young woman with frizzy greenish blue hair, red lipstick, and a straight posture that she consistently maintained, even out of work hours. She placed the files in a drawer under the desk in front of her and looked up to see Hunter standing near the doorway. She gave him a small smirk. "Did you find some more evidence for me to sort through?" She asked as he stepped up to the desk and placed the grunt's bag on top of it.

"I found another Team Rocket member outside of Viridian Forest," Hunter declared, opening up the bag to reveal the stolen Pokeballs. "I drove him off after he attacked a young girl. He got away, but he dropped this after he left."

"While I can't exactly encourage you to go out openly challenging criminals," Officer Jenny noted, tapping her chin, "I will say that your efforts have been a tremendous help. The evidence that you've collected for us has helped us catch quite a few of Team Rocket's members." Jenny then takes the bag of Pokeballs and walks into the back, putting them into an evidence locker. "I'm going to go through these Pokeballs and see if any of them match the stolen Pokemon reports that we've gotten around town. In the meantime... " Jenny turns to Hunter with an inquisitive look. "I'd like to know something."

"Don't we all," Hunter responds with a shrug. Officer Jenny rolls her eyes.

"You've only just arrived here a few weeks ago, and you're hunting Team Rocket more fervently than any of my officers are," she gives a sharp look to one of the policemen sitting at a table in the back, playing a card game by himself. "If you're that interested in hunting down criminals, why don't you join the police force? I'm not quite sure how smart you are, but you've got to be clever if you can catch Team Rocket grunts without even trying. Besides, you have an incredibly strong build. I can tell that you'd ace the academy easily."

"I'm not interested in taking down all criminals," Hunter says with a sigh. "This is personal. I can't be wasting my time in an academy. I've already spent enough time away from here." Hunter seems to space out for a moment, as if recalling something. "Speaking of which, I need to know any information you've got on Team Rocket. Particularly, where their hideout might be." Officer Jenny huffs and shakes her head.

"You've got heart, I'll give you that. But even if we did know, you're still a civilian. I couldn't be handing out information like that without thinking. I'm sorry, Hunter."

"No, I understand." Hunter pulls the brim of his cap down and turns to walk out. "I'll come back to you if I find any more evidence. Be sure to get those stolen Pokemon back to their owners." Officer Jenny gives the young man a smile and a curt nod as he walks out.

"Be safe, Hunter." Heading out of the police station, Hunter walks over to the shop and picks up the week's newspaper. He had been away for a long while, so he felt it important that he caught up on current events. There were several articles, many about rising crime rates, an increase in natural disasters, and scientific anomalies that were being discovered around the globe. Apparently there was a meteor strike in the Sinnoh region that shook up the nearby cities, constructed of a strange and unidentified material. That didn't really interest Hunter, however. After purchasing the paper, he walked out onto the street while reading. Power outage in Lumiose City… Expanding industrialism in the Unova region… Testing on unidentified Pokemon genes…

As Hunter turned a corner, his reading was suddenly interrupted as someone collided with him, knocking both of them on the ground. After shaking his head and looking up with a twinge of annoyance, Hunter was suddenly surprised at who he saw. It was a girl around his age, with dark red hair and green eyes. A gentle spread of freckles covered her face and cheeks. She was a bit shorter than Hunter, but not by much. She wore a dull orange tank top that looked like it hadn't been washed recently and a pair of cut off jeans that were ripped from wear and tear. There was a small blue bag strapped to her back. Next to her was a small, blue, snakelike creature with beady black eyes and a white underbelly.

The girl rubbed her forehead and winced, then reaching over to take the blue creature in her arms. "You okay, Dratini?" The small serpent made a high pitched mewing sound and draped itself across her shoulder. The girl smiled and giggled before looking up to see who she had bumped into. At first, she seemed annoyed. "Hey, watch where you're..." she suddenly stopped as she realized who she was talking to. "H...Hunter?!" She suddenly exclaimed, standing up swiftly and pulling the young man forcefully to his feet. Just as she was about to speak, however, someone turned the corner of the building. It was a police officer, panting and sweating from exertion.

"Hey!" He shouted, running towards the two of them. "Don't move!" The girl cursed under her breath and turned to Hunter, an aggressive look on her face. "Meet me behind the museum," she ordered before turning and sprinting off. "We'll talk then!" she shouted back to him as she ran. Hunter, overwhelmed with a sudden rush of different emotions, realized that the officer was about to pass him. Instinctively, Hunter put out his foot and tripped the officer, sending him sprawling into the road. Hunter then turned and started whistling casually, hoping not to get in trouble with that officer when they saw each other again.

"So much for keeping my record clean," Hunter mumbled with a sigh, scratching the back of his neck. Still, he had more important things to worry about. First and foremost… What in the world was Amanda still doing here?


	3. The Reunion

Chapter 2: The Reunion

In front of a small orphanage near the back end of Pewter City, a group of four boys were playing. The youngest of the children was six years old, and the oldest was ten. They were dressed in ragged, hand-me-down clothing that didn't fit quite right. Most of them looked like they hadn't had a bath in weeks. Despite this, they were gleefully playing tag, chasing after one another like normal children do. One child, however, shyly stood near the front door of the orphanage, watching the other children play. She was new around there, and the other kids weren't quite used to her yet. She looked a bit more clean than the others, more well kempt. Her hair was brushed, her nails were cut, and her face was washed. Though she was shy, she wanted to play with the other children and become friends with them. Yet they seemed to be avoidant, keeping a good distance from her at all times. It took a few moments, but the shy young girl finally worked up her courage and walked up to the group of boys. They stared at her as she approached, her eyes only occasionally glancing upwards at them.

"C-Can I play with you?" she asked timidly, looking up at the ten year old boy who seemed to lead the group. A few of the children sneered a bit at her, annoyed by her sudden interest.

"Leave us alone," the youngest boy blurted out thoughtlessly.

"Yeah, we don't want you here," said another one of the boys. The oldest of the children looked at his friends, and then back down at the younger girl with a frown.

"Why do you wanna play with us? You're a girl."

"Girls are gross!" the youngest boy declared, much louder than was necessary. The oldest boy turned to him.

"Shut up! You're being stupid!" The youngest then turned away and pouted a bit. "Why do you not wanna play with the other girls?" the oldest then continued, facing the girl once again. It took her a moment to reply.

"The girls just like dolls and braids," she responded, "but I don't like that stuff. I wanna run with you guys. It looks fun." The young girl had never really been interested in typical girl stuff to begin with. She had more interest in sports and physical activities than anything else.

"But we don't wanna play with you," the oldest boy said to her, grimacing as he looked down at her. "You're kinda weird."

"Why am I weird?" the young girl asked, her eyes welling up with tears.

"'Cause you don't talk a lot, and you smell weird, and… I dunno, I just don't like you." The oldest boy was a bit too young to realize that it was her well kempt look that put him off. He felt jealous of people who got to live like that, clean and taken care of. It made him feel as if she was privileged and entitled. The young girl started to cry, heartbroken tears running down her cheeks. Her feelings had been hurt, and the boys just looked at her awkwardly for a few seconds. That was when they saw someone approaching from the back of the orphanage. They grimaced as they saw who it was. "Go away, Hunter!" the oldest boy shouted. Hunter was a bold child, a bit tall for his age. His straight black hair was cut short, and he constantly wore the same oversized white t-shirt and sweatpants. At the time, he was only seven years old, and yet a few of the children in the orphanage were afraid of him. As he came closer, the boys realized he had an angry look on his face. The youngest child ran away fearfully, along with the second youngest. The oldest boy and his friend stood their ground, annoyed at Hunter's sudden intrusion. The young Hunter walked up to the oldest boy and, without hesitation, socked him across the cheek with his left fist. The oldest boy shouted painfully and ran away in a hurry. "I'm telling Miss Carol!" he yelled, tears of pain and humiliation in his eyes.

The young girl was still crying, hardly even realizing what had happened. Hunter walked up to her and put a hand on her shoulder. "What's your name?" he asked, in almost a monotone voice. The young girl sniffed and wiped her cheeks.

"Amanda," she stated plainly. She brushed her dark red hair out of her face and looked up at the boy. They were the same age.

"I'm Hunter," the boy said, smiling just a bit. "Wanna go play in the woods?" Amanda knew they weren't supposed to go play in the woods outside of town. Hunter, however, was the first person to actually invite her to do anything with them. Her eyes were still red and puffy, but Amanda nodded slowly.

"Okay," she agreed. Hunter took her hand in his own and suddenly ran off, practically dragging Amanda with him as he began to run through the streets of Pewter City and towards the Viridian Woods. For the first time since she had come to the orphanage, Amanda smiled.

* * *

Hunter snapped awake from his daydreams. It was late evening, and Hunter was standing within the shadow of the museum building. Behind a few trees was a small pathway around to the back of the museum, with unkempt grass and vines growing down the walls of the building. When they were young, Amanda and Hunter would often come back here to hide from their caretakers. That was such a long time ago, Hunter recalled. It honestly shocked him that Amanda was still here. He would have thought that she'd have moved on to some other town or city, one where she could be more successful or start a real career. It seemed that this wasn't the case, however. She was still the same old Amanda, except she'd aged a few years and was in desperate need of a bath. Although Hunter did share that in common with her, he supposed.

Hunter looked up from his thoughts as he saw a figure walking down the alleyway next to the museum. Amanda walked out into the small area, looking around cautiously. She was still wearing the same dusty orange shirt, and still had that Dratini on her shoulder. She noticed Hunter standing there, and then let out a breath she seemed to have been holding. "Is there anyone else here?" she asked, seemingly paranoid.

"Not to my knowledge," Hunter answered with a shrug. Amanda made a long, relieved sigh, before walking swiftly up to Hunter.

"Good!" She stated, right before slapping Hunter across the face as hard as she could. While Hunter was used to pain like that, he certainly wasn't expecting that, as he reeled back and rubbed his stinging cheek. "What in the world is the matter with you?!" Amanda shouted, putting her hands on his shoulders and pinning him against the nearby wall. "You leave without telling me, without telling ANYONE," she starts, putting an accusing finger right up to the center of his chest, "and you disappear from my life for FIVE YEARS?! And then you just come back like nothing is wrong?! Do you have ANY idea what I've been doing these past five years? The things that have happened since you left?" Hunter was left speechless. He didn't know that his leaving would have had this much of an effect on her… But he supposed he should have expected something like this to happen. Hunter tried to speak, but couldn't really get the right words out.

"I… I didn't… it wasn't..." He was interrupted by the feeling of Amanda's shaking shoulders. It wasn't long before he realized that she was laughing. She then pulled him into a tight embrace, and Hunter couldn't tell if she was laughing or crying.

"You stupid dumb jerk! I'm supposed to be mad that you left, but you're making me too happy! I'm supposed to be mad..." she let out a fit of laughter as she gripped Hunter in her arms. Hunter, too confused for words, just sighed and hugged her back.

"Look," Hunter began, "I know I should have said something… but if I did, then you would have tried to convince me to stay, and I couldn't do that. Not with what happened." Amanda broke the hug and looked up at him, her gleeful smile giving way to a slightly concerned look. The Dratini on her shoulder slipped into her open blue bag and popped its head out to rest on her shoulder, beginning to snooze softly.

"You lost a friend," Amanda said with a slump of her shoulders. "I can't blame you for running the way you did, but..." she rubbed her arm abashedly and huffed. "I missed you. It really hurt, not having you around all those years. But as you can see, I managed. I made do with what I had, and I made new friends… well, I made one new friend." Amanda smiled and gently rubbed the head of the serpent resting on her shoulder. "But what were you doing, Hunter? And why are you here now?" Hunter looked up, as if trying to figure out a way to confess what had happened.

"I actually haven't been that far. I've been up there," Hunter turned and pointed to the top of Mt. Moon. Amanda gave him a skeptical look.

"You were on Mt. Moon for five years, huh?" she asked, folding her arms.

"Look, you wouldn't believe me if I told you what I was doing up there," Hunter stated, shaking his head. "It's best just to leave it at the fact that I was on Mt. Moon all this time. And you know that I'm no liar." Amanda nodded her head in agreement at that last statement.

"Well you must have been doing some weight lifting up there, because you are _jacked_." Amanda moved forward and squeezed one of his biceps playfully. Hunter cringed a bit and pulled his arm away, much to Amanda's amusement. "Yeesh! Were you lifting boulders up there or something?" The worst part was, Amanda wasn't exactly wrong.

"What about you?" Hunter asked to change the subject. "We got in a lot of trouble as kids, but I don't recall you ever being chased by the police." Amanda chuckles nervously at this statement.

"Weeeeeeell," Amanda said, turning away a bit, "I might be just a little itty bit of a… thief." She ended her last word with a dejected sigh. "When I became too old to live at the orphanage, they kicked me out and told me to go get a job. Well, I wanted to be a Pokemon trainer, but that didn't really work out. The first few days of trying, I quickly ran out of Pokeballs and pocket change. I didn't have any Pokemon, so I couldn't battle trainers for money, and I didn't have money to buy more Pokeballs, so I couldn't catch any Pokemon. From there, I started having to steal to get by..." Amanda scratched the back of her neck shamefully. "I only steal what I need! Food, water..." She coughed into her hand a bit, "_...magazines, beauty products..._" she coughed into her hand once again. Hunter shook his head.

"You couldn't find any other job? Nothing?"

"Well, you know how it is. They say they want people with experience, but you need to get a job to get experience, but you need experience to get a job… It doesn't help that I have a criminal record now. I knew I shouldn't have tried to steal those cupcakes..."

"Well, you have a Pokemon now, right? Couldn't you become a trainer with him?"

"Dratini is just a little baby!" Amanda said defensively, taking the Dratini out of her bag and cradling it in her arms. "He's much too precious for me to send into Pokemon battles… for now!" she then lifts the small creature into the air. "Soon you're gonna be super strong, and we're gonna be Pewter City's next Gym Leaders!" Hunter recalled that Amanda's dream was to become the next Gym Leader of Pewter City. Although from the looks of it, she had a long way to go. Amanda then turned to Hunter and looked at him skeptically. "You never did tell me what you're doing back in town," she stated, folding her arms as Dratini slithered back onto her shoulder. Hunter sighed and looked up at her grimly.

"I'm looking for Team Rocket. I want to take down the entire organization." Amanda looked down, almost saddened.

"I figured that would have something to do with it. Lucky for you, I just so happen to know where you can start." Hunter raised an eyebrow and looked at her inquisitively, signalling for her to go on. Amanda rolled her eyes, unsurprised at his eagerness. All work, no play with him. "I heard a rumor from some police officers I was hiding from that some Team Rocket grunts were hiding out in a cave north of Cerulean City, on Route 25. They also said something about a Team Rocket Executive Officer being there." Hunter put his hand up to his chin, pondering.

"Then that's where I'm going." He almost immediately began to walk out from behind the museum before Amanda put an arm out in front of him.

"For goodness' sake, Hunter, they aren't going anywhere. Let's get some food and rest before we go, shall we?" Hunter raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms.

"Who ever said that you were going?" he asked skeptically.

"I did, genius. You've been gone for five years, I'm not missing the chance to get into trouble with you again."

"There's no way that I could bring you. There's almost definitely gonna be a fight, and I can't take care of you if that happens."

"Oh please," Amanda shook her head and gave a sly smile, "I've been living on my own for five years now, I can take care of myself. Why don't we put it to a vote? I say I should go. How about you, Dratini?" The Pokemon in her bag gave a mew of agreement. Amanda shrugs. "You heard the baby. I'm going with you." Hunter could only sigh. Part of him knew that bringing Amanda into all of this was a bad idea. There was another part of him, though, that couldn't be happier that she wanted to stick with him, even after all this time.

"Fine, you can come. But the road I walk is a dark one. There may be no turning back."

"Quit being so dramatic," Amanda said with a giggle. "You sound like a brooding comic book character. Now let's go get dinner. You're buying, since I so graciously decided to give you a lead for hunting Team Rocket." She smiled and turned, heading out from the back area of the museum. Hunter smiled a bit, putting his hands in his pockets and beginning to follow her. _She's grown up quite a bit_, he thought to himself. _And yet she's still the same old Amanda._


End file.
